Here I Come
Across nearly two decades, Wale has wielded one of hip-hop’s most underrated pens. After releasing his latest album, Everything Is a Lot., the D.C. MC continues to shape his legacy in an ever-changing music industry.
Interview: C. Vernon Coleman II
For a guy who named his debut album Attention Deficit, Wale seems to be laser-focused on trusting the process. Bars above gimmicks. Artistry over antics. It’s the formula for success for the 41-year-old rapper, who has been the face of Washington, D.C.’s hip-hop scene since Barack Obama resided at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Following the release of the rapper’s eighth studio album, Everything Is a Lot., after signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2023, it’s clear the ambition is still there.
Wale describes being more than 20 years deep into his rap career as an anomaly. It’s one that has been filled with wins and losses. After making a name in the Chocolate City with early go-go-inspired hip-hop tracks and indie mixtapes in the mid-2000s, he inked deals with Mark Ronson’s Allido Records and Roc Nation management, in addition to releasing his debut album, Attention Deficit, in 2009. In 2011, Wale joined Rick Ross’ growing roster at Maybach Music Group, where he churned out two Billboard-topping albums, The Gifted (2013) and The Album About Nothing (2015), and a No. 2 debut, Ambition (2011).
With a poet’s flow and battle rapper-esque ability to concoct slick double entendres, he’s also proven to be a hitmaker with platinum tracks like “Lotus Flower Bomb” featuring Miguel, “Bad” featuring Tiara Thomas and the diamond single “No Hands” with Waka Flocka Flame and Roscoe Dash. He continued to put out music at a steady pace up until 2021’s Folarin II.
In the last few years, Wale has been in “survival mode” as he transitions to the next phase of his career in an ever-evolving rap landscape where he’s often felt misunderstood—a topic he doesn’t even want to address anymore. In 2023, he found a new label home at Def Jam and spent the next couple of years crafting his latest album, Everything Is a Lot., which arrived last November. The effort, a collision of rap, 1990’s R&B and Afro beats, is being praised for its emotional girth and elite bars. It debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200, selling 23,000 units first week.
XXL caught up with Folarin via Zoom in late November to talk about his new album, staying true to himself in an evolving music industry, his relationship with Rick Ross, the next chapter in his career and more.
XXL: You’re on the heels of your eighth album. How are you feeling?
Wale: Tired, but I’m blessed. Very blessed.
Does this album feel different?
The state of the business probably is like a lot different. So, I mean, everything around it feels different because it’s just a lot has changed in eight years.
On one of your posts on Instagram announcing the album, you said you watched the music industry become unrecognizable. What are the biggest differences you’ve seen in the past 20 years or even the past five years?
Algorithms. That’s something that nobody can control. The consumption. How much work you got to do just to get it in the hands of people that really already want to hear your music. When it went from physicals to streams, a lot of stuff became smoke and mirrors, to be honest.
What space have you been in personally over the past few years?
Survival mode and just trying to adjust to the new reality of the music business.
How were things different this time around, being signed directly to a major?
I wouldn’t say much different. The industry has changed so much, I can’t say that enough. In the past, five years, post-COVID, it just accelerated to something unrecognizable. So, I wouldn’t say much has changed.
It doesn’t seem like Def Jam put a lot of pressure on you to drop the album. They let you cook.
I put the pressure on myself, because I know what I’m capable of. And, the way people consume music, this kind of feel like a debut in a lot of ways. I had Roc Nation and Mark [Ronson] my first go around, then I had Ross for the next seven or six. Now it’s back to square one.
Did you approach it any differently with that feeling?
Not really. I had a little bit more freedom in some ways. I was a little bit more informed. I don’t like being over-informed on things when I’m working on the music. But I think just by necessity, management let me know more stuff that was going on. That was completely new to me.
After three years on the label, why was now the right time to drop?
It was ready. They saved me from me at one point, because I just keep working, I just keep making songs, I keep making stuff and changing stuff.
The title is pretty self-explanatory. But is there a deeper meaning?
It’s really just the levity of life as a Black man, as a Black artist, Black father. Just the levity of it all. Not even just living in this country, which could have been enough on its own, but if you zoom in, all of that.
How long were you working on this project?
As soon as the last one ends, the next one kind of starts, in theory. There’s probably a little bit of carryover. You kind of know which one to go with next. It’s been like that for me, at least. It’s like a long, episodic season. As soon as the season finale ends, the next season already starts cooking.
Has there been any shift in your creative process over the years?
It changes all the time. The need to be walking around, moving around, or the need to have a routine in my day to get the best out of myself. I think that was prominent this go around.
Do you go into an album saying, OK, this is the sound, or this is the theme, or do you just let the music and your pen take you where it takes you?
It takes me wherever it takes me, but then I start shaping it together. I start challenging myself, challenging what ideas are normal, or trying to make things just pop a little more. I try to out-Virgo myself once it starts coming together.
Your music is more personal than most artists. Why do you feel like it’s important to be vulnerable and open in your raps?
I just don’t know what else would be the point if I wasn’t saying anything important. Just rhyming to rhyme. That’s cool when you first learn how to do this, but at this point, people are really invested in what I’m saying, and I just want to make sure that what I’m saying holds weight.
AI is becoming a big topic in music. As a lyricist to your core, what are your thoughts on AI artists becoming a thing?
There’s better uses for AI. But it’s just not with art. That’s the last place it should go is with things that require human experience, human emotion.
What’s inspiring you right now outside of music?
Different artists in different fields. I like watching how things were made. Watching how movies were made, watching how great pieces of art were made. Fashion, how things were made. How other people’s minds work. That keeps me going.
You were on MMG for years. What’s your relationship with Rick Ross like now?
Great. He just left a comment in my last post. [EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview was completed in November 2025.] We haven’t seen each other in a bit, but last time we seen each other, we talked for a bit. It’s all good.
You’ve always been like a rapper that’s been outspoken about being underrated. How do you balance getting recognition and staying true to your art?
I just work hard. That’s all I can do is work hard. I can’t control very much. I can just control what I can do in that booth.
What did success look like for Wale in 2025? Has your definition changed over the years?
I just hope that I can not get too cynical on this, and just keep the main thing the main thing. That’s like my goal. As hard as this whole culture just be on its head sometimes. Just never lose the love I got for the art form.
If you could travel back and talk to “Nike Boots” Wale, what advice would you give him?
You got to be patient with yourself and with the culture. And you got to understand this joint is not going to be an easy thing. It’s not going to be in your favor. You’re going to have to really love it, and it’s going to be thankless a lot. So, you got to check yourself sometimes and stay grounded.
You’ve also been an artist that’s been open about mental health and self-worth. What helps you stay grounded in this crazy music industry?
My family and my close friends. I got management that are from the same place, so they understand some of my plight. And just having people to understand me, it goes a long way. And also, being around people that are just as hardworking as you, it motivates you. It does a lot for your mental.
So, what do you want people to get from this new album?
Everything that I’m giving. It’s layered. Some things are really in your face, and some things really haven’t been broken down yet. I honestly think less than 10 percent of these people have heard the album, have really broke down where I’m going and what I’m saying.
I think a lot of people are really stuck on the songs that they love, but I don’t know if they’re really breaking down the full story. And I think that’s one of the more exciting things to look forward to is once it starts, people start putting it together.
Is that something you try to do with the project, like, make it multi-layered and not just…
No, I mean, I just think that I’ve got so tapped in with writing and writing in different styles that it just naturally happens. Had to fight my managers and other people on certain things and ideas I had. But it’s such a vindicating feeling when you do that and you end up making the right decision. It means the world.
What do you want your legacy to be within hip-hop?
I’m still putting it together. I really don’t know yet, but I know that I got some ways to go. I still got some dreams. I got lofty goals, so I really couldn’t answer, but I know I’m still going.
You posted on Instagram in October that the “most uncertain moments of my career ahead of me.” What ways do you feel like you are prepared to handle what’s coming in your career?
There’s a lot of my generation that don’t really know because my career is kind of an anomaly. I toured the world with Jay-Z and [Mark] Ronson two years and then went to MMG. I was trying to push Afro beats. I was trying to be my own person creatively and push the envelope. People couldn’t see past certain things. There was a lot of things that people don’t know. This album was an opportunity to reintroduce myself and hopefully it connects.
What’s next for you after this album?
I know the real work begins now. So, I got about 10, 11 months to really show people how important this album is and how special it is and how much I believe in it.
You got a tour coming up? I’m sure we’re going to get some more videos, stuff like that.
Yeah, of course. The name of the game is content now, but we’re going to try to do as much as we can to shed light on this whole project.
Do you have anything specific lined up?
Well, also the name of the game is secrecy. The art of surprise is almost the strongest word of mouth. So. I got to use both of those as my weapons.
